should have been mormaer!’ said Lulach fiercely. ‘That way Kenneth would have been safe!’
His mother sighed. ‘No, Lulach. Most times war comes to you. There’s no escape. Sometimes you have to fight. Your stepfather has protected Moray better than anyone else could have. I knew that when I married him.’ She touched his hair lightly. ‘And now perhaps there’ll be no more war for any of us.’
Lulach shrugged. The future was far away. But the man with half a face was here and now.
His mother continued. ‘Do you know who the true heroes are?’ she asked him softly.
Lulach refused to answer.
‘The ones who hate what they have to do, but do it anyway. It’s called duty, Lulach. Duty is watching your husband ride away and wanting to scream at him, “Don’t go!” But you don’t scream at him. You hold the words back. Duty is waiting, smiling so no one sees your terror, making sure the cows are milked, the sheep are shorn, the fish are dried, so that there is something for the men to come back to. And when they do come back…’ She bit her lip. ‘Lulach, do you love Kenneth?’
Lulach look up, surprised. ‘Of course!’
‘If you were Kenneth, what would comfort you the most? A boy who ran away from you? Or one who schooled his face and helped him? That’s duty, Lulach. Doing what you have to do, no matter how hard it is.’
There was silence on the hill for a while. A hare peeped out from a clump of heather, its ears twitching.
‘Did I hurt Kenneth, running away?’ asked Lulach at last.
‘He didn’t notice,’ said his mother gently. ‘Not this time.’
She stood up and held out her hand to him. ‘Come on, Lulach. You’re going to be the Tanist of Moray. The people need to see that you care about them.’
Lulach looked up at her. ‘I don’t want to be tanist. I…I want to study, like Knut. I want to go to the monastery too.’ The idea had just come to him. But it seemed so good suddenly, to live among books, away from all the decisions of the world…
‘No,’ said his mother shortly.
‘Why not?’
‘Oh, Lulach, how can I make you understand? You have no brothers, no cousins or uncles. Anyone else who could stand for election as mormaer is dead. There’s only you. The clan must have a leader. The land must have a chief to tend and guard it.’
‘And there’s only me?’ said Lulach slowly.
‘There’s only you.’
‘Duty,’ said Lulach. It seemed the heaviest word in all the world. ‘If…if you have another son, can I be a monk then?’
‘Perhaps,’ said his mother softly, smiling slightly. ‘If I do.’
Lulach stood up, and followed her down the hill.
Duty, thought Luke, only half awake, a world and an age away from the small boy on the hill. How lucky to have someone to tell you clearly what your duty was.
And now the Mormaer would be king.
Or would he?
Luke rolled over and let the dream claim him again.
Chapter 13
Lulach
All hail, Macbeth!
( Macbeth , Act I, Scene 3, line 48)
The King was dead. It was time to elect another.
Down in England the king’s son became king when his father died, even if he was evil or a fool. But here in Alba the mormaers and the bishops met at Scone to elect one of their number as high king.
The three of them rode along the muddy road into Scone—Lulach, his mother and his stepfather. The men of Moray marched behind them.
Flakes of snow drifted from the low grey clouds and melted on their faces, and the horses’ hot breath turned the cold air into mist.
Lulach stared. He had never dreamed that any town could be so much bigger than the rath at home. There were more houses than you could count! Whole streets of tanners, potters, coopers, cobblers, shield makers…
Out from the houses, down from the hills, people ran towards them—men in ragged leggings, women with tattered skirts, hungry children with fingers bluefrom the cold and feet bound up in rags, cheering, cheering, cheering…
‘Moray!’ they yelled.
His mother sighed. ‘No, Lulach. Most times war comes to you. There’s no escape. Sometimes you have to fight. Your stepfather has protected Moray better than anyone else could have. I knew that when I married him.’ She touched his hair lightly. ‘And now perhaps there’ll be no more war for any of us.’
Lulach shrugged. The future was far away. But the man with half a face was here and now.
His mother continued. ‘Do you know who the true heroes are?’ she asked him softly.
Lulach refused to answer.
‘The ones who hate what they have to do, but do it anyway. It’s called duty, Lulach. Duty is watching your husband ride away and wanting to scream at him, “Don’t go!” But you don’t scream at him. You hold the words back. Duty is waiting, smiling so no one sees your terror, making sure the cows are milked, the sheep are shorn, the fish are dried, so that there is something for the men to come back to. And when they do come back…’ She bit her lip. ‘Lulach, do you love Kenneth?’
Lulach look up, surprised. ‘Of course!’
‘If you were Kenneth, what would comfort you the most? A boy who ran away from you? Or one who schooled his face and helped him? That’s duty, Lulach. Doing what you have to do, no matter how hard it is.’
There was silence on the hill for a while. A hare peeped out from a clump of heather, its ears twitching.
‘Did I hurt Kenneth, running away?’ asked Lulach at last.
‘He didn’t notice,’ said his mother gently. ‘Not this time.’
She stood up and held out her hand to him. ‘Come on, Lulach. You’re going to be the Tanist of Moray. The people need to see that you care about them.’
Lulach looked up at her. ‘I don’t want to be tanist. I…I want to study, like Knut. I want to go to the monastery too.’ The idea had just come to him. But it seemed so good suddenly, to live among books, away from all the decisions of the world…
‘No,’ said his mother shortly.
‘Why not?’
‘Oh, Lulach, how can I make you understand? You have no brothers, no cousins or uncles. Anyone else who could stand for election as mormaer is dead. There’s only you. The clan must have a leader. The land must have a chief to tend and guard it.’
‘And there’s only me?’ said Lulach slowly.
‘There’s only you.’
‘Duty,’ said Lulach. It seemed the heaviest word in all the world. ‘If…if you have another son, can I be a monk then?’
‘Perhaps,’ said his mother softly, smiling slightly. ‘If I do.’
Lulach stood up, and followed her down the hill.
Duty, thought Luke, only half awake, a world and an age away from the small boy on the hill. How lucky to have someone to tell you clearly what your duty was.
And now the Mormaer would be king.
Or would he?
Luke rolled over and let the dream claim him again.
Chapter 13
Lulach
All hail, Macbeth!
( Macbeth , Act I, Scene 3, line 48)
The King was dead. It was time to elect another.
Down in England the king’s son became king when his father died, even if he was evil or a fool. But here in Alba the mormaers and the bishops met at Scone to elect one of their number as high king.
The three of them rode along the muddy road into Scone—Lulach, his mother and his stepfather. The men of Moray marched behind them.
Flakes of snow drifted from the low grey clouds and melted on their faces, and the horses’ hot breath turned the cold air into mist.
Lulach stared. He had never dreamed that any town could be so much bigger than the rath at home. There were more houses than you could count! Whole streets of tanners, potters, coopers, cobblers, shield makers…
Out from the houses, down from the hills, people ran towards them—men in ragged leggings, women with tattered skirts, hungry children with fingers bluefrom the cold and feet bound up in rags, cheering, cheering, cheering…
‘Moray!’ they yelled.
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